Anti-Israel protesters burn American flag at DC's Union Station amid Netanyahu visit

A group of Pro-Palestine protesters on Wednesday attempted to tear down and burn an American flag outside of Union Station in Washington, D.C., in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress.

United States Capitol Police officers used pepper spray on rioters on the National Mall during the speech, but said no flags under their purview were taken down or destroyed. Union Station is located a couple blocks from the Capitol complex, but is not on Capitol grounds.

The protesters at Union Station were unable to tear down the flag, after D.C. police reached it first and took it down, according to the New York Post. But the demonstrators were able to hoist up a Palestinian flag in its stead, and then burned their own American flags. 

The protesters also shouted slogans like "Free Palestine," and wrote "Free Gaza" on monuments. Some protesters also shouted "f*** the United States," the outlet reported.

The rioters were part of a larger group of thousands of demonstrators who were protesting Netanyahu's speech, and called for his arrest after he was charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, slammed the protests in a social media post on Wednesday afternoon.

“Less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol, pro-Hamas protestors have taken down and burned AMERICAN FLAGS at Union Station to fly Palestinian flags,” Tuberville wrote on X. “Absolutely SHAMEFUL.”

The activities come a day after 200 protesters were arrested after illegally occupying the House Cannon Office Building's rotunda. Protesting in Capitol buildings is illegal. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.